Large scale mobile storage tanks are used in a variety of different commercial applications including oil and gas (for hydraulic fracturing, “fracing”), environmental, municipal, industrial, and waste water treatment and removal. Currently, these storage tanks are constructed from materials such as carbon steel or stainless steel. Due to the chemicals used in various industrial processes including fracing, these steel storage tanks are prone to corrosion, breakdown, and decay. In the case of carbon steel storage tanks, efforts have been made to coat the tanks with materials such as an industrial paint (for example, a carboline paint) or rubber. Applying these coatings results in a storage tank that is not homogenous (the coating and the underlying steel tank). These coated storage tanks are unable to withstand the use of corrosive chemicals, causing the coatings to wear and breakdown, leading to corrosion of the tank shell. These coated storage tanks also do not allow for the expansion and contraction of the tank shell itself. Stainless steel tanks are not coated at all, and corrosion of the tank due to exposure to chemicals is inevitable.
There exists a need for a corrosion-resistant storage tank that is capable of withstanding the use of these chemicals. The storage tank of the present disclosure overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a, corrosion-resistant mobile storage tank constructed from a copolymer polypropylene. Constructing the storage tank using a copolymer polypropylene also provides for a storage tank that is lighter, lower cost, and more flexible than current tank designs.
Currently, steel storage tanks are designed with a straight-line mid-mixing pipeline. In such design, if a valve external to the storage tank is left open, is faulty, or is degraded, there is a risk that the contents of the entire storage tank, including potentially harmful chemicals used in the industrial processes, will drain out. It would be advantageous if the corrosion-resistant storage tank could also incorporate a safety feature into its pipeline to prevent the emptying of the entire tank. The storage tank of the present disclosure may also overcome the limitations of the prior art by providing a “u” shaped mid-mixing pipeline.
Currently, storage tanks are configured with an apex “v” shaped bottom, but a flat top. Because storage tanks are used in a variety of different climates, including those with harsh winters, these flat tops present the risk of accumulating large amounts of rain water and snow. It would be advantageous if the corrosion-resistant storage tank was also designed to prevent the accumulation of rain and snow. Because commercial applications often require the use of a large number of storage tanks, it would also be advantageous if the corrosion-resistant storage tank also maintained the general geometry of storage tanks currently being used, namely rectangular, closed-top tanks. This would enable integration of the superior storage tanks into the industry while maintaining continuity among the size and shape of the various storage tanks. The storage tank of the present disclosure overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a tank design with both an apex “v” shaped top and bottom.